When people consider the costs of buying a home, the typical calculations are down payment, mortgage rates, monthly payments, insurance and property taxes.

But what about the costs of living in the home? Commuting from the home? What about adding the amenities to the home, and the lifestyle one wants to have while living there?

These data are now being factored in by agents through the cooperative professional property marketplace run by NorthstarMLS out of St. Paul. In addition to the traditional costs of home buying, the ongoing expenses of home ownership can be included in the decision-making process.

The NorthstarMLS database updates as properties go on and off the market. It is owned by its clients, all members of Realtor associations around the state and western Wisconsin, and is exclusive to members of those associations.

The so-called TLCengine was created by Krishna Malyala, a real estate agent and former Citigroup technology executive out of New York. It was introduced last year at a trade show in San Francisco. The NorthstarMLS has had it in the works for more than a year. Earlier this month, the NorthstarMLS became the first in the country to deploy it for its customers. It’s now helping develop the product for other markets.

We spoke with NorthstarMLS President John Mosey and Chairwoman Claire Killen, a Realtor in Edina, about what it means for the market. Their answers have been edited for context and clarity.

Tell us some of the ‘hidden costs’ of home ownership that TLC will work out for buyers.

Killen: “It looks at the cost, for example, of your car. You can plug in that you’ve got a Buick Enclave, and that it gets certain miles per gallon, and you plug in where your work, and it will calculate for you the average cost of your commute.

“And you can add day care, in case people don’t take day care into consideration, and the costs of having children; and they can actually plug in what is their cost of living, and use that cost of living relative to the price of the property, tax, and the mortgage payment.”

Mosey: “Another feature is the size of household. Utilities enter into this. The size of a household will determine the consumption of utilities, not only how big your house is, but also where the usage is: Is it a young family? Is it a family with children in school? Is it an empty-nester family? All of those lifestyles are different in terms of your consumption of utilities.

“Adding on to cost of commute, one of the things that’s interesting here is (auto) insurance rates differ — by the length of the commute, the type of car you drive, and the community you’re choosing to live in.”

Are the cost of ongoing household repairs factored in, say if you’re buying an older home? Or the costs of home improvements you might want to do?

Mosey: “Those are not included because that’s normally addressed during inspection at the time of purchase.

“Interestingly, the National Association of Realtors has done studies on what they call the millennial level of home buyer, and these are more inclined to want everything done as they move in. There’s much less of that ‘Mr. Fix It’ kind of sentiment as they go in, either of the ‘sweat equity’ kind, or ‘we’ll do it when we have the money.’ ”

Is there a fear that using this tool can cause agents to lose sales, or that this would have a chilling effect, once the true costs are known?

Killen: “There’s always a fear and the unknown; my argument to that is, our business is to do the best by our clients. By giving them all of the tools and all of the information to help them make an informed decision, maybe this isn’t the right time to buy where they’re at in their life. There’s always people who will say absolutely not, but that’s with anything.

“It gives people the information, they may think they can’t afford it, but by the time you plug all of that information in, maybe they’ll turn around and go, ‘You know what? That actually means I could afford a little bit more in a payment; I could afford a little bit more in a house,’ which actually ends up being more commission in our pocket because we’re able to say yes, you can afford this home here in Minneapolis, versus Apple Valley, because of the cost of the difference between the two. And over time, that’s your better investment in real property.”

Mosey: “There’s really two kinds of buyers out there today in my estimation … and this is a huge generalization, but you get those who are either uninformed or disinterested in the details. And the other kind, you’ve got people who know more than their agent does. They’ve done research, there’s so many sources of information out there, that they come so well prepared that you’d better have the answers.

“And better those answers come from the person you’re working with, where a relationship has been established that is fiduciary, taking you through to the end of this for the desired outcome; that you don’t get sandbagged or hit from out of the blue, on additional expenses you never contemplated, or never even thought were in your budget.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Krishna Malyala, creator of the TLCengine real estate database tool.

David Fondler produces the daily and Sunday Business pages for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He was hired as business news editor in 2002. Prior to that, he edited business sections for the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Prague Post in the Czech Republic. He also worked as an English-language radio reporter in Budapest, Hungary. He began his career in newspapers in the Los Angeles area.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in News

Drivers along Ayd Mill Road in St. Paul call it one of the most pockmarked roadways in town. Winter melt, age, traffic intensity, deferred maintenance and questionable construction all have taken their toll. St. Paul city officials are continually grappling with the challenge of funding road repair for a growing residential and business population. Outsiders sometimes make unfair comparisons to...

St. Paul Saints general manager Derek Sharrer's stomach was doing backflips as he watched No. 16 seed Maryland-Baltimore County beat No. 1 overall seed Virginia. The team he’s in charge of was about to be out $10,000.

A marker on the Hillcrest Golf Course proclaims the Hillcrest Knoll to be Ramsey County's highest hilltop, though folks in Arden Hills and Shoreview might dispute it. Soon, the 1920s-era golf course may have another claim to fame -- housing, and lots of it. At Larpenteur Avenue and McKnight Road on the city's Greater East Side, Hillcrest represents 112 acres...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The hunt for the serial bomber who has been leaving deadly explosives in packages on Austin doorsteps took a new, more sinister turn Monday when investigators said the fourth and latest blast was triggered along a street by a nearly invisible tripwire.